Florida State coach Willie Taggart played coy about the starting quarterback job once again Thursday.

When Taggart was asked if he had his quarterback yet, he responded that he has six on the roster.

"We have a few. Quite a few. I think we have about six of them on the roster," Taggart said.

"They're all working really hard. They're all doing a really good job. We have three that's really competing and have two that is further ahead than one of those guys. There's one hell of a competition going on. I like where we're at."

Redshirt sophomore James Blackman and graduate transfer Alex Hornibrook are the two quarterbacks that Taggart is referring to. Both Blackman and Hornibrook got first-team reps during the hurry-up drill during Wednesday's practice.

Taggart had previously stated that he will name a starting quarterback before the Seminoles' opener against Boise State at 7 p.m. on Aug. 31. That game will be played at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville.

Taggart on wide receiver coach Ron Dugan's mom passing away

"I spoke to Coach Dugans, and again you can only imagine what he is going through. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. We will get him back when Coach Dugans is ready to come back and I think it will be sooner rather than later. But we want him to take care of what he has to take care of. Just think about it, he has to to bury his mom - he is a only child. It is tough."

Offense

The offense spent the first period of practice working on ball security and recovering fumbles in shells.

The drills had one ball carrier with two players trying to rip the ball out as the ball carrier made their way across the field. The team was inside the indoor practice facility due to inclement weather in the area.

Once those drills were over the quarterbacks and receivers got together for route drills. The quarterbacks as a group didn't have their best day throwing the ball during the drill.

Between Hornibrook and Blackman, Blackman had the better day, particularly when throwing the ball down the field.

Wide receiver Tamorrion Terry is working his way back into things. His first two reps weren't great and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles made a point to come over to him and speak with him.

The offensive line were working through a drill with a piece of PVC pipe connected to both ankles. The idea behind the prop is that it prevents the offensive linemen from bringing their feet in too close or too wide. It keeps the base solid, which is something that offensive line coach Randy Clements is always on the players about.

Defense

The defense opened up practice working on stripping the ball from ball carriers and getting on top of loose balls before moving on to pursuit drills.

The first-team was a bit of a jumble with multiple expected starters still working back from injury. Defensive tackle Marvin Wilson (knee), buck linebacker Josh Kaindoh (hamstring), and star linebacker Leonard Warner (undisclosed) are all still recovering from injuries. They were running with the third team during pursuit drills.

Defensive lineman Cory Durden, another expected starter, was with the third team as well. He was with a trainer during the start of the drill.